All posts by TJH

Theresa May was in fact asked just once. She wasn’t even asked to condemn Saudi Arabia, just instead asked a generic question on why we supply arms to them. The first answer she gave was accepted. (You can read of one of her recent responses to the question of Saudi Arabia here)

Contrast this to Jeremy Corbyn who on Sunday was asked to condemn the IRA on the Sophie Ridge show on Sky News. He wasasked 5 times to condemn the IRA. The answer he gave was a cerebral, intelligent one but the likely highly paid journalist couldn’t seem to grasp the answer, instead looking for a headline to give credence to her Sunday morning TV slot and sure enough it became headline news across all the major news networks and on anticipation will have likely made the front pages of some if not all of the right wing print media today.

If you’re for Jeremy Corbyn you may wish to share this with anyone asking the question “Why does Jeremy Corbyn support the IRA?” If you’re against Jeremy Corbyn you may wish to read what follows to get a better understanding of his stance before you go believing everything you read and hear.

Jeremy Corbyn’s response to the question “Do you condemn the IRA?” was thus;

“I condemn the bombings” and when pushed again and again went on to say ‘I condemn all bombings and violence’

The very fact that his answer was not accepted five times was for the simple reason that Sophie Ridge wanted to hear Corbyn say ‘I condemn the IRA’ no matter the nuanced point he was making because asking the same emotive question again and again without getting the response you want makes a good headline.

The question some will have is ‘why doesn’t Jeremy just condemn the IRA?’

Here’s the thing. You can absolutely, quite legitimately hate what the IRA did and how they conducted their campaign but their claim for a unified Ireland was a justified one and they represented whole communities within Ireland. To condemn the IRA as an entity implies you are for the loyalists in Northern Ireland and you would be picking a side.

He unequivocally condemned the bombings, he does not support war and violence and did not support the IRA’s use of those tactics. It is this kind of understanding about grievances that makes the likes of Jeremy Corbyn incredibly suitable for leading the UK in international affairs. If anything it is the attitude of the UK at the time that helped prolong the violence on our shores. Our inability to listen to the other side for many years led to the deaths of countless people. Indeed, only the IRA can be blamed for the deaths of innocent people but when you’re trying to find a solution to conflict you must be willing to engage with the other side on a certain level. That is strong leadership rather than a reactionary one which seems to be always be courted by Conservative governments.

It’s also worth remembering the atrocities committed by the British Army and the treatment of the Irish in a time when they were seen as lesser people than in Northern Ireland.

The IRA were supported in Ireland for their cause of unifying Ireland away from the UK, it was a legitimate claim and still is. No less than Scotland asking for independence. These are all the reasons Corbyn won’t outright condemn the IRA but will condemn their tactics. To condemn the IRA might be seen to condone the loyalists and condemning or condoning either side may have been, or may be, a dangerous stance to take.

It needs to be asked why Theresa May and the Conservatives don’t get a hard time over Saudi Arabia. The troubles in Ireland ended quite some years ago now yet Saudi Arabia is in the here-and-now.

Saudi Arabia bombs, often indiscriminately, children and adults in Yemen in a war that once again is a war over regime change, one that is backed by the West. Saudi Arabia have used old banned bombs supplied by the UK, they have bombed civilian water supplies and then when the rebels in Yemen respond by taking pot shots at Saudi Arabia the UK respond officially by stating that Saudi Arabia“has a right to defend itself”in responsetoSaudi Arabia throwing all its UK and American weaponary at the rebels in response. Add to thisthat Saudi Arabia is well known for being an epicentre of Middle Eastern terrorism and has a terrible human rights record and you have to begin to think that by comparison the IRA were lightweights. How can you argue any different?

Of course the response will be that Saudi Arabia isn’t bombing mainland UK. Of course, but what that says is that you’re ok with our hand in what Saudi Arabia is doing as we sell them multi million pound contracts in arms in exchange for alleged security information. You can not possibly condemn Jeremy Corbyn for taking a neutral stance on one issue and yet not condemn Theresa May for taking a biased corrupt stance towards the corrupt and human rights breaching Saudi Arabia. It’s two faced and a blot on the reputation of our nation and it’s a scandal.

It seems Thersea May can’t see the irony of talking of humanitarian aid when the weapons that the UK sells to Saudi Arabia are the cause of the need to supply humanitarian aid in the first place.

‘Asked about alleged human rights abuses by the country, Mrs May said it was an issue she would bring up and pledged Britain would continue supporting the people of Yemen through humanitarian aid.’

Yet the media seem to by-pass this issue. It’s a conundrum of epic proportions.

You have to remember also that the centre ground Tony Blair government and the right wing Conservative governments have all had similar international policies when it comes to conflict and especially the Middle East. There is no question that the fall of Saddam Hussein led to the destabilisation of the entire Middle East and is still felt today in Syria and with ISIS. The very fact we have Extreme Islamic terrorists within Europe can be traced back to successive foreign policies that interfere with the delicate balance that is within the Middle East.

So instead of asking why Jeremy Corbyn doesn’t condemn the IRA why aren’t you asking Theresa May why she doesn’t condemn Saudi Arabia and instead of insisting that Jeremy Corbyn is not strong on defence why aren’t you asking Thersea May why she insists on conducting a foreign policy that proliferates international terrorism, the very same terrorism that affect us today, not 20-30 years ago.

Like this:

Just days ago a new video emerged, two years after the fatal shooting of Michael Brown, as part of a documentary called Stranger Fruit. Ithas lead to renewed protests and vigorous debate in the USA.

Two years ago it was alleged that Michael Brown commited an unarmed robbery at a convenience store in Ferguson, St.Louis County, Missouri. When Michael Brown was picked up by police he allegedly tried to take the gun from police officer Darren Wilson who then shot Brown once who then made off. As Wilson gave chase it’s alleged that Brown turned towards Wilson and charged at him causing Wilson to fear for his life and he opened fire multiple times. Brown dies at the scene.

The video that was released by police at the time and the only video in relation to the convenience store that was released to the grand jury in the subsequent trial of Darren Wilson was the one depicting the unarmed robbery.

In the video it shows Brown entering the store who appears to reach over the store counter and remove at least two packets of cigarillos (small cigars or Hamlets to our UK readers). As he begins to walk out of the store he is confronted by a shop keeper but Brown pushes the shop keeper away and walks towards him again. The shop keeper backs off and Brown exits the store.

Before we move to the Stranger Fruit video I wanted to show two stills from that unarmed robbery. (You can watch the full video at the end of this article if you wish)

Michael Brown (red cap, white t-shirt) can be seen holding the cigarillos he has taken from over the counterFriend of Brown (Behind Brown with Dreadlocks) can be seen holding a pack of cigarillos that he has been passed by Brown

The Cigarillos in question were of the brand Swisher. In both of the images above the packs appear to be predominantly a red type of colouring with a white logo on the front with some white writing and white strip towards the bottom of the boxes.

The alleged robbery took place somewhere around midday on August 9th 2014.

Darren Wilson was later cleared of any wrong doing in his trial amidst mass protests across the country, let alone Ferguson itself. Some witnesses had suggested that Brown had raised his hands just prior to being shot a second time. Other witnesses said he charged at the officer like a “football player with his head down” .

The new video related as part of the documentary was unseen by the grand jury or the public. It shows an interaction at the same convenience store between Michael Brown and the shop keeper except it happens 12 hours prior to the armed robbery incident. It happened at around 1am that same morning.

Brown can be seen entering the store and seemingly places something on the counter which three members of staff begin to pass around and look at. It’s alleged this is cannabis by the documentary maker although the shop staff deny any transaction took place. After this exchange the staff are seen bagging up what appears to be cigarillos and hand it to Brown who then proceeds to exit the store. However Brown returns to the counter and hands it over to staff. From the footage it appears that staff are holding it for possible safe keeping until a later time to collect.

The images below are from the new video (which you can see in full at the end of this article);

Shop keeper on right of image holding up a package. Note the predominantly red packaging and white logoSame shopkeeper, holding same cigarillos but has turned the package around. Red packaging, white logo and white strip towards bottom of packaging

The question ‘Does this change anything?’ is two fold. It must be broken down into two areas.

Firstly does it change anything connected to the court case of officer Darren Wilson? Secondly does it change anything around how the entire situation played out?

Wether you believe police officer Darren Wilson is guilty or innocent or wether you believe Michael Brown had his hands up or not isn’t the point with regard to this article. Wilson was found innocent and this video wouldn’t likely change that verdict in the slightest. The incident as it unfolded for Darren Wilson remains exactly the same.

What it does change or should change is how the police deal with the aftermath of an incident and how that impacts on the rest of society. The police had this new video and had viewed it but decided it did not need to be released to the public or the grand jury. Michael Brown was labelled a thief or indeed a robber who had used strong armed tactics to effect his escape. Whilst there may be some truth in that from a technical stand point in law the new video clearly shows that there is good evidence to suggest that Brown was in fact retrieving the cigarillos he had left behind 12 hours earlier. It would appear that the shop keeper on duty at that time may not have been aware of this and thus thought he was being robbed. A miscommunication then?

We will likely never know why Brown allegedly wrestled with the officer but that moment, whatever happened and why led to his death.

The biggest tragedy is that an unarmed man was shot dead for stealing some cheap cigars. You expect the police to be professional and protect life at all costs. Was there a need to shoot? Could Wilson have backed off from Brown sufficiently? Did Brown pose a threat to any members of the public? I have to argue it was a needless death therefore it should be considered an unlawful death. Guns, even for US cops should be a last resort. Shot and injured from the first gun shot and likely slower in speed than Wilson there appears little reason why Brown had to be shot to death at that point.

The new video however makes little difference to the eventual outcome for Brown and Wilson.

Fiona Robson is a Conservative Councillor for Stanwix Urban Ward in Cumbria. You may expect someone who was a former ‘learning assistant’ at the Church of England, Trinity school in Carlisle to be a fairly compassionate person who might understand the hardship that the most vulnerable in society have to go through.

However on Sunday 5th March Ms Robson decided that instead of getting behind the weekend NHS protesters in their call to save the most loved of public services, perhaps around the world, she would instead use the moment to berate the disabled. She posted the following tweet and it went viral;

Clearly all disabled who can’t get up early every day, go to work on public transport, do 8 to 10 hour work days and actually hold down a job must stay at home, out of sight of the public and have no life whatsoever, but just like the disability assessments with the DWP if you can raise your hand above your shirt pocket… you must be fit for work. Anything less and you’re a scrounger.. because you know that’s exactly what this Tory Councillor is thinking.

How dare the unemployed disabled be using a couple of hours of their time to protest. Whatever next?!

The responses on Twitter came thick and fast.

Ms Robson did make her apology,

The film she was referring to was I, Daniel Blake the film depicting the hardship many on benefits can face.

However that wasn’t enough to stop the backlash;

We wondered if Ms Robson held a Facebook profile and didn’t expect to find any public postings but what we found in some ways confounded the image Ms Robson has now created for herself.

She had multiple religious postings including a trip to see the Turin Shroud, one of the most visited religious artifacts in the world. Some of her posts give the impression that she is extremely caring, but as we have found in the past, being religious does certainly not make you a caring person.

We’re not sure her Twitter posting will give any comfort to the disabled or unemployed.

But it was perhaps this public Facebook posting that raised some serious questions.

Not the only pro Donald TRUMP posting, this shared petition calls for Antifa to be declared a terror organisation. Whilst Antifa does have some questionable tactics and sometimes a questionable moral compass they are, above and beyond anything else, exactly what their title describes. Anti Fascist. To support such a petition does, wether intended or not, give the impression that you’re for fascism.

If that alone doesn’t give you an impression behind her thinking she certainly has a nationalistic tendency flowing through some of her posts.

She is proud to display her meetings with some famous people including David Cameron and this well known man;

Perhaps most pertinent to this story however is this shot believed to be taken at the 2016 Conservative Conference.

This is the full sign in the background

Not ‘everyone’ though, hey Fiona?

Perhaps the rest of us though should take this advice that one of her posts gave.

Yes Fiona, and you’re the garbage, so we’ll stop listening now and with some luck so will the locals in her ward.

We have no love for Donald Trump. Rude, crass, xenophobic, misogynistic are just a few words to describe him. He is a danger to the environment and a complete loose cannon on the world stage. It’s certainly going to be an ‘entertaining’ presidency.

When it was announced that Donald Trump would be having a state visit the total panic and anger of UK citizens was palpable, certainly amongst many on the left, so much so that over 100,000 people protested in London alone in an international show of support against Donald Trump.

Is it all really justified though? We have been no stranger to criticising our own left side for hyping up the fear levels. He is after all no more of a danger on the international scene than say George Bush Jr. The epitome of a Neocon hell bent on destroying the Middle East. If anything he is more of a danger to the environment and his own people than anything else.

So we decided to see how much of a threat Trump has been to the people of the UK by looking at how many people have signed petitions in support of a few various causes, including some of the largest ever petitions to government. It may put some things into perspective.

Even the NHS, with all its problems couldn’t get anywhere near the level of support the Donald Trump petition achieved.

There was then this first Donald Trump petition to stop him coming to the UK at all. Big enough in itself at over half a million signatures.

Thankfully there was some respite from the insanity as over 800,000 people signed a petition to give all new borns a vaccine against a form of Meningitis.

But that was shattered by a colossal petition which puts everything in the shade. At almost 2 Million signatures, a petition to stop the state visit of Donald Trump to the UK.

The two Donald Trump petitions combined means that of the petitions shown here Donald Trump has attracted in the region of 400,000 more signatures than the other 8 petitions put together including War, child abuse, the NHS and benefit cuts to the most vulnerable in society.

We realise this is not scientific and doesn’t take into account perhaps other signature based petition websites or individual circumstances such as how widely a petition was shared but it does give us an idea of perhaps how skewed our sense of outrage is.

This is why we refuse to get too hung up on Donald Trump. Before we know it, he will be gone, only to be replaced by a new Neocon and the battle for the Middle East will likely commence again, and besides, our NHS is far more important than Mr.Trump.

Perhaps if we focused more on our own problems we might do better at getting the message across to the wider public about how this Conservative government is ruining people’s lives.

You can view a list of the largest ever government petitions that have been signed here.

Here in the video below Owen Jones speaks candidly about Jeremy Corbyn, Labour and the Left in almost exactly the same tone we did in our article. Even if you dont agree on the similarities, be assured we agree with much of what he says. No doubt he too will be shown some similar outrage.

He talks at the end about desiring a radical left party with the right leadership, he has clearly no desire for a return to Blairism. If Labour could have Corbyn’s policies with the right leadership it really could work. He’s right.

The only difference between us and Owen Jones is that he believes a radical left Labour is possible. We don’t, especially with the question of Brexit. The left, as he even mentions himself in the video, is split on this issue. As a result, whichever leader comes to the fore must take a stance on Brexit and that may well alienate the opposing side to that leadership, potentially splitting Labour’s support into two again.

As a result we still believe that forming a dedicated Socialist party or joining a ready made smaller Socialist party is the lefts best hope for the long term future, if not the immediate future.

If we’re wrong on Corbyn, then so is Owen Jones. He’s not the lefts best friend at the moment, but he was the lefts best friend when he was vocal against the Blairites. How fickle some of us on the left can be.

No doubt some will refuse to watch this video but it’s perhaps the most considered piece on Corbyn, Labour and the left we have seen.

Some of you said we were “talking bollocks” and other such nice things in our article. You’re entitled to disagree but we feel that with such similar views to other well known people such as Owen Jones here, who is also on the left, that our stance has been vindicated.

Owen Jones has had to defend himself against allegations of being a left wing sell out or a right wing PLP supporting traitor. We were also called that, but we won’t be openly defending our position. People who have followed us for some time know full well, we are still left wing and always will be. Owen Jones video is worth the listen, even if you’re sceptical.

He has made a brave decision in compiling this video, knowing the backlash he may receive. It’s brave to swim against the tide and that’s what he is doing, but more and more people on the left are now starting to have major doubts about the future, so it’s right that the issues are openly discussed.

Like this:

In over two years there has been no substantial evidence whatsoever that the dream of getting Jeremy Corbyn elected at the next general election is even remotely possible.

Before every modern left winger sends the hate mail, let me just make this point. We know it’s largely down to the PLP and we know the bias MSM have played their part in this too. The fact remains we have gone backwards not forwards.

At the turn of the year we were told Corbyn was to relaunch himself and the party. However if someone can point out where the relaunch disappeared to that would be great. It’s almost March. Almost three months since the relaunch and all we have had is several car crash interviews from Dianne Abbott, mixed messages over immigration from different Labour MP’s, a mixed message on Brexit and importantly, an unclear message. We have lost Copeland, (no, there are no excuses, the public don’t care if the candidate likes Corbyn or not) and now a ‘soft coup’ has started, out of the public eye. So the public won’t really care what’s going on that much behind closed doors.

It doesn’t matter why Corbyn has not succeeded, he simply has not cracked this particular nut. The PLP remains (which was a huge mistake, they should have gone at the start), the old Blairites remain in the shadows, the public is no nearer backing Corbyn evidenced by Copeland and the 18 point gap in the polls. Yes, I know, polls don’t mean anything. But seeing as they were usually accurate prior to the last 12 months it appears it’s convenient for us to dismiss them all together now. So I am guessing that in truth Corbyn is the most popular leader around and Labour are going to swoop to power in 2020? No. Didn’t think so.

There are some who insist in fighting on and fair play to them, you can’t criticise people for trying but sadly I still feel that no matter what happens here on in, Corbyn’s dream is dead in the water. Some people are behaving like a puppy lying by the side of their dead mother dog, pining for them and nudging them in the hope that they will stand up and play with them. Only for those on the outside to see it’s just a sad, sorry sight.

When Corbyn has gone, some within Labour’s membership will vote for whoever comes to the leadership table, as they say “better Labour than the Conservatives”. Some will move to the Greens, some may back Labour under a fairly left wing candidate like Angela Rayner, some will move back to places like Left Unity, some ‘won’t bother to vote’ again. This will result in two things, the true left and their cause will have been set back several years at the same time as a probable centre left Labour Party re-emerges. Resulting in the original status quo of the Lib Lab Con. The Neocons will have returned.

We think the long term solution (it won’t happen over night) is for the left to reconvene in one smaller fringe party, propelling it from obscurity into the limelight as what would surely be one of the largest socialist parties in Europe, taking over Labour perhaps? Any injection of membership fees means candidates can stand almost immediately and the battle for the true left begins. The disadvantage is that it will take time to build up MP’s, the advantage is that it will be a wholly left wing party built on truly socialist policies with the mechanism to ensure a left wing candidate goes all the way without any hindrance. The alternative is to keep fighting the PLP on their own turf.

Even during protests today the flags that can be seen flying are ones promoting the likes of the Socialist Party, you don’t see Labour flags. That has to speak volumes for what the answer should be, Socialist Party or any other party.
Some say that Labour was not theirs (the PLP) to start with. Perhaps not. It was once the party of the left, but the tentacles of the Neocons have reached far into the mechanism like a Cancer merging with the hosts organs. The damage is done.

If you want to discussthe way forward for the left, both here in the UK and abroad and you want to share your ideas about what should happen next then join the debate and discussion over at the group Solutions for the Left on Facebook.

It’s a popular concensus to suggest that the likes of Trump and UKIP are a danger to us all. Described by some as either far right, right wing or just plain dangerous, the truth is that neither of these two are the real danger facing the left.

In fact we have been facing this particular danger for many years, the only difference is that the focus has changed and we have put the real danger to the back of our minds. We are being distracted and it’s going to come and bite us all in the backside, hard.

The real danger is Neoconservatism, or Neocon for short. Neither Trump nor UKIP fit this billing.

Trump and UKIP share a few qualities and they centre around protectionism. This will manifest in a desire to bring back industries lost to Capitalism (or progress), protect ones own country at the expense perhaps of foreigners, protect jobs and importantly keep out of foreign affairs as far as possible. The ideas often result in high levels of nationalism and that can be viewed by some as a good thing and others as bad depending on your take on things. In contrast protectionists do not usually like to interfere abroad, they tend to be militarily neutral and they have no desire to overthrow governments for whatever reason. To do so is considered expansionism or imperialism. It’s therefore extremely important to distinguish between imperialist nationalism and protectionist nationalism and both UKIP and Trump fall into the latter.

Today all the focus is on both of these political entities with UKIP constantly being labelled rightly or wrongly as racist and Trumps inauguration instigating one of the largest ever nationwide protests in US history and huge protests elsewhere around the world. Billed as perhaps the most dangerous man to ever enter the Whitehouse. In some ways that may well be true especially if your concerns are ones around the environment.

Whilst the world gazes almost hypnotically at the Whitehouse and the rise of right wing parties across Europe, the left is almost entirely taking its eye off the real danger. The Neocons.

It’s not a great leap to suggest that Trump being elected was their plan all along. With the world seemingly turning against Imperialism and Neocons/Oligarchs and their domination under threat, what better way to scare the masses than put someone like Trump into power?

One conspiracy too far? Perhaps, though the end result of Trumps leadership may well result in something equally as powerful to the Neocons. Cementing for many a year to come their unequivocal power and hold, on the electorate, rolling back the fear the people have of them and instead ensuring that the public embraces them.

Consider the image below;

Taken from the Vox.com article it explains how Conservatives are trying to literally turn people away from the likes of Bernie Sanders and Socialism such is their fear of real change. In the article it states;

“Americans needed to be reminded of life under the Soviet Union, arguing that they were insufficiently aware of the dangers of authoritarian states under communism.”

It goes on to say

“The panel repeatedly mentioned lessons from countries like Cuba, Venezuela, and the former Soviet Union, saying that millennials had to understand that socialism is inseparable from dictatorship”

If that is not enough to convince you that the Neocons are vying to take back control listen to this recent video featuring Hillary Clinton speaking for the DNC.

Here she takes credit for the protests against Trump and claims that the Democrats produced the most “radical” set of policies in “history” during the presidential campaign. If you believe any of that then you’re bound to be one of the ones voting for the Neocons at the next election. Heck! She even used the phrase “resistance and persistence” . This is the way it will go between now and whenever the next election is. The Neocons will be brilliantly executing their plans to convince you that Neoconservatism is ‘normal’. Chances are it will work too because the left have taken their eye off the ball. The threat is not Trump, it’s still the imperialist, expansionist neoconservatives.

They will return to power and when they do they will have a vice like grip on the electorate like never before because, they will say, ‘we never want another Trump in power again’ and with the Conservative youth wings of politics promoting Socialism as ‘bad’ like ‘Communist’ Russia and Venezuela, what chances that people will take another gamble after Trump?

Meanwhile the likes of Jeremy Corbyn in the UK and Bernie Sanders in the US continue to try to fight the establishment tide within the Labour Party and Democratic Party respectively.

When will the real left learn? To really make it work you have to break the mould. Stop trying to swing established Neocon parties to your way of thinking. Develop your own party, swell the ranks and turn the election into a genuine three horse race. The establishment clearly won’t allow you to win using their resources. Sure, it won’t be easy in a new party but at least you’ll get the right candidate and you will live and die by your policies and hard work and not at the hands of a secretive, bias DNC or in the case of Labour in the UK, the PLP.

Perhaps the single biggest stumbling block though is the split running right through the Left at the moment on both sides of the Atlantic between the traditional working class left and the New modern left. I am in no doubt that many working class left, voted for Trump, as are many here in the UK voting for UKIP.

The new modern left can’t understand this and having never likely been involved in old industries where workers rights and jobs was what it was all about, which includes curtailing migration when it needs to be done, the bridge between the two is hard to gap.

The new modern left does include what many consider the far-left which entails Open borders and non nuclear policies but getting a traditional working class man to agree with you on those points I am thinking is going to be a tough job.

As few left wing parties subscribe to this thought process the traditional left are turning to more right wing parties that offer protectionism.

Unless these issues can be sorted out amongst the left then it will be hard to get a leader they want. Let alone the fact that right now the left are not even focusing on the right threat. The Neocons. It’s time the left opened their eyes to what lies ahead.